Three sold-out Taylor Swift Eras Tour concerts in Vienna, Austria, were canceled on Aug. 7 after authorities foiled an apparent terror plot. According to officials, two teenagers inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida were behind the deadly plan and taken into custody.
Concert organizers said they stood behind their decision to cancel, saying they expected up to 65,000 fans inside the stadium at each concert and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside, where authorities said the suspects planned to strike.
After the cancellations were announced, a video clip went viral on X appearing to show an enraged Swift fan demanding a refund. The video, which had more than 700,000 views, has since been deleted.
The person in the video says they paid for flights and two nights in a hotel and asked, “Who is going to pay that to me? Who?” The X post accompanying the video said, “i , like many austrians , just #scammedbytaylorswift we need flights refunded, hotel refunds NOW!!!! taylor nation !!!”
People in the comments and those sharing the video expressed anger that a person would demand a refund for travel costs when the concerts were canceled because of an attempted terror attack. Others said the video was old and criticized the person for sharing it.
THE QUESTION
Does the viral video clip show a Taylor Swift fan demanding a refund for travel costs after the Vienna shows were canceled?
THE SOURCES
- Original video posted to YouTube on Aug 27, 2018
- InVid and RevEye, video and photo forensics tools
THE ANSWER
No, the viral video clip doesn’t show a Taylor Swift fan demanding a refund for travel costs after the Vienna shows were canceled.
WHAT WE FOUND
The video doesn’t show a fan demanding a refund for travel costs after Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows were canceled in Vienna, Austria. The video is actually five years old and shows a fan reacting to a bad encounter involving Britney Spears.
Using video and photo forensics tools InVid and RevEye, VERIFY was able to trace the video to one posted to YouTube on Aug. 27, 2018 by Spanish artist Marta Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez was reacting to a bad experience she had at a Spears meet-and-greet in Paris. Spears was in Paris for two concerts on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena.
In both the current viral video and the 2018 video, Gutiérrez can be seen in the same building wearing the same outfit. At the 4:07 mark of the 2018 YouTube video, Gutiérrez can be heard saying the exact same thing that was said in the viral posts claiming to show an angry Swift fan.
In the original video from 2018, Gutiérrez was upset because she was asked to leave the meet-and-greet for standing too close to Spears during the photo opportunity. She said she told Spears she spent a lot of money to be at the event, and it appeared as though Spears was laughing at her for spending the money. Gutiérrez is not the only fan who shared a bad experience from the same Spears meet-and-greet event in Paris.
“I paid for flights and for two nights of hotel. Who is going to pay that to me? Who? Are you, Britney? Because I’m not going to pay any meet-and-greet for you ever again and I hope that nobody does,” Gutiérrez says.
Taylor Swift was never mentioned in the video posted to Gutiérrez’s channel in 2018.
Eras Tour Vienna concert organizer Barracuda Music said in an Instagram post late Wednesday that it had "no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.”
Barracuda said all tickets would be refunded. The same message was posted under the Vienna dates on Swift’s official website. Austrian rail operator OeBB said that it would also reimburse fans for unused train tickets for the concerts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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